“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.” Revelation 6:8… now here’s a monster for your narrative!
The Four Horsemen from the book of Revelation provide a great opportunity for building narrative. Nothing makes a more ominous horror or supernatural story than one layered with Biblical references, so why not rain down the most apocalyptic of all characters upon humanity in your narrative. This post is dedicated to the Four Horsemen and all their nasty narrative potential…
The Horsemen …
- First is a white horse; rider has bow and crown; CONQUEST (or PESTILENCE, in which case the bow propels arrows of disease)
- Second is a red horse; rider has sword; WAR
- Third is a black horse; rider has balance scales; FAMINE
- Fourth is a pale horse; rider is followed by Hell or Hades; DEATH (could definitely carry a scythe or other nasty weapon)
- You could definitely take poetic license with these… just check out Revelation Chapter 6. No reason the four horsemen couldn’t be accompanied by other riders of less renown,
- certainly the delivery of the conquest, pestilence, war, famine, and death is up to you as a writer; look at the environments below for places to set your destructive power,
- Your “Horsemen” could literally show up in your narrative or could be figurative notions of the nastiness that awaits humanity.
Environments
- battlefields, nuclear aftermath,
- places of death, destruction, annihilation, extermination, genocide, rampant violence, mass shootings, slaughter, terrorism,
- places of famine, drought, starvation,
- wastelands, barrens,
- places of disease, illness, plagues, pestilence,
- hospitals, asylums, old folks’ homes, nursing homes, institutions, sanitoriums,
- near churches, temples, sanctuaries, places of covenants with God,
- open “gates”, passages to the underworld, stairs,
- places of ill-repute, Sodom and Gomorrah, bawdy houses, brothels, red light district,
- places of alternate lifestyles, gay bars, swingers’ clubs,
- end times, apocalyptic environments,
- mega corporations, GMO labs, nuclear facilities, mega banks, financial institutions,
- seats of power, CEO’s office, the presidency, maybe the parliament of Canada but probably not (they’re more conciliatory than confrontational),
- cult camps, apocalyptic retreats, reclusive towns, gated village,
- a random small town chosen as the seat of the end of the world (why not?),
- slum, ghetto, tenements, projects, shanty town,
- corrupt city hall, legislature, office, department,
- crime scene, site of murder, homicide,
- laboratory (science gone toooo far),
- child’s room, daycare, kindergarten, grade school,
- graveyard, cemetery,
- circus, fair ground, amusement park,
- market, mall, shopping center,
Stuff
- definitely swarms of locusts, bees, crows,
- brimstone, fire, candles,
- sigils, circles, signs, crosses, pentagrams, rosary beads, altars,
- omen, prophecy, harbinger, warning, prediction, forecast, presage, augury, auspice,
- cloud, storm, wind, changing tides, rising waters, tsunami, earthquake, tornado, weather events,
- volcanic eruption, atmospheric disturbance, magnetic field, solar changes, asteroid, meteor shower, black hole, comet, cosmic event, lunar event, global warming,
- vision, message, covenant, deal, seal, agreement, dream, nightmare,
- key, door, secret door, stairs, mirror, window, gate,
- a box, chest, crate,
- skull,
- artifact, relic, idol, statuette, doll,
- religion, belief, doubt, dogma, doctrine, holy war,
- squeaky playground equipment (swing sets are always creepy… I imagine Pestilence asking Famine to push him higher),
- weapons, WMD (weapons of mass destruction), nuclear weapons, poison intended for someone extremely powerful,
Characters
- well… the horsemen for starters: Pestilence/Conquest, War, Famine, Death,
- other horsemen… Greed, Fear, Hate, Wrath, Anger, Vengeance, Avarice, Jealousy, Bert,
- opposing horsemen… Happiness, Love, Joy, Reconciliation,
- a hero, fighter, unlikely hero, high school student,
- believer, non-believer,
- a rogue priest, disgraced monk, fallen minister, holy adventurer,
- the innocent, kid, naive child who sees the horsemen coming, altar boy, apprentice, acolyte, monk,
- the clergy, the establishment, religious characters, pious leader, inquisitor, prophet, missionary, minister, priest, cleric, fallen priest, conflicted believer,
- atheist, doubter, agnostic, spiritually-conflicted individual,
- cult leader, cultists, occultists, satanists,
- wizard, witch, warlock, sorcerer, magic using character,
- king, empress, monarch,
- pagan, wiccan,
- the military, mobilized unit, special forces combat team,
- holy knight, Templar, Illuminati,
- celebrity, conspiracy theorist,
- someone on their deathbed, terminal patient, assisted-dying participant,
- librarian, researcher, archivist, curator,
- analyst, scientist, lab tech, inventor,
- investigator, PI, cop, officer, detective, homicide detective, dick,
- assassins, spies, agents, specialists,
- soldiers, military personnel, special forces,
- villain, robber, crook, swindler, thief, murderer, criminal, thug, gangster, crooked cop,
- terrorist, martyr,
- bigwig, corporate CEO,
- vigilante, mercenary, ranger,
- lost soul, druggie, meth head, hobo, prostitute, prisoner,
- professor, teacher, school janitor,
- journalist, young reporter, skeptical editor,